Open Collections

Chung, Cheuk Kit

University of British Columbia

This thesis examines the sustainability challenges faced by community archives and proposes social innovation theories and design thinking as a solution. Through a comprehensive literature review and reflection on the Community Archives, Collections and Heritage Exhibition (CACHE) project with Vancouver's Wongs' Benevolent Association, this thesis identifies limitations in existing sustainability approaches and shows how social innovation theories, implemented through design thinking, can address root causes and provide sustainable revenue streams while maintaining community archives' independence and autonomy. The study critiques current archival practices and funding models, advocating for human-centric, tailored solutions that generate both social impact and financial sustainability. Drawing from my practical experience on the CACHE project, this thesis offers a methodology of design thinking on adopting social innovation theories as well as a business model framework that provides potential revenue streams while maintaining independence and autonomy. The findings suggest that social innovation can not only enable community archives to achieve archival sustainability but also catalyze systemic change in archival practices, challenging institutional paradigms while empowering communities to preserve and advocate on their own terms.

Text

2025-05-01

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/90951

Archival Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/